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School Marketing Blog

The professional school marketing manager needs to be up-to-date with the latest school marketing strategies and resources to successfully implement the school marketing plan. This school marketing blog enables school marketing professionals to engage in blog discussions relating to the school marketing issues of today. The 'School Marketing Manual for the Digital Age (3rd ed)', 2011, by Bryan Foster, forms the basis for most of these blog posts.

This may seem quite difficult for most school staff, and it is, however, I very much believe every teacher and school leadership person has at least one good book within themselves. It may or may not be on the theme or genre that you initially expect, but it is there.

All school staff have particular skills, be these professional, trade-based, business, religious or spiritual, artistic, social or family-based, etc. These days people who 'have made it' want to tell us how they did it. May be this is your area. May be you are very creative, tell great stories, or consistently have people eager to listen to your every word - may be a fiction book or autobiography is your best approach.

Unfortunately, we are not going to see the fruits of all these skills as most people will not ever get to complete their masterpiece. Do not be one of these. Make the commitment, plan the process and Begin! Begin! Begin!

You will then need to commit to either a full time or part time writing schedule. Extended breaks dedicated to writing are the best options. However, a well scheduled weekly part time regime and out of work hours is another viable option.

Options to Sell Your Book / e-Book

The key approaches a new author could take are:

Chasing a Publishing Company to Publish Your Book - often quite time consuming and with a minimal chance of success.

Creating Your Own Professional Website and Online Store for e-book sales - relatively expensive to do well, however cheaper options are developing right now - but this method will get your work out there in a reasonably quick time. Then there is the challenge of SEO (Search Engine Optimization), i.e. the process of getting your website high on search engines - quite difficult but not impossible.

Selling e-Book Through Commercial Online Stores - probably the simplest and least expensive. This is the area which has taken giant leaps in the past 2 years.

Creating a Hardcopy in a Way Which is Inexpensive and Then Sold Online Through a Commercial e-Book Store - developing now before our eyes - and often offered through the top end online commercial bookstores themselves. This way allows for both the book and e-book versions to be sold, often by the same company - doubling your marketing options.

Check out various options to build your own website in relatively simple and inexpensive ways, such as at Yahoo Site Builder.Also see various search engines and others who offer this option, as one possible route for this to occur. This will allow for both the sale of your book as a book and an e-book online through both commercial online bookstores and though your own website and its online shop.

The more options you give yourself for sales, the more books and e-books you will sell.

The 'How to Write Your Own Book or e-Book and Get it Sold - for Schools' blog post was written by Bryan Foster, author of School Marketing Manual for the Digital Age (3rd ed), (2011)
- the paperback and ebook manual for school communications and marketing
personnel - 340 pages of easy to read and implement summarized
points - allowing for a considerably large number of quality strategies and examples to be
detailed - with copyright
remaining GDPL. Book available from Amazon.com and Createspace.com

Comments

How often have you thought of writing your own school book - that is right - being an AUTHOR of your OWN work, which schools or students could use!? I would imagine that most teachers and school administrators have at some time in their lives had this wonderful thought. The only problem is that most of these people did not go the next step - BEGIN THE WRITING TASK. And what a task it is!!! But well worth it - take it from me - extremely rewarding!!!

Yes, the Beginning!!!

I found the most difficult step was actually BEGINNING! That's 'write' - actually putting pen to paper - well not really - actually putting finger to key board!

In my case I got to the point where I knew I had something beneficial to offer others and that the time was now right.

I locked away a four week block of time - moved to a quiet island near my residence and reflected and reflected and reflected...

put pen to paper for basic introductions and outlines

did drawings and sketches which would hopefully help the process

exercised

paddled my surf ski through mangroves and observed turtles and sea hawks - day after day until I realized the theme I had planned on was not to be.

My book of reflections and retreats would have to wait another day!

But No - There is More

But! When I sat down to my computer that night after realizing that it was probably all over, and that this whole experience was going to be either a waste of time or just a fantastic quiet holiday, another theme surfaced.

And before I really grasped the significance of this new direction, I had actually written almost a chapter on this new theme, over the first couple of days of this new session. From then on, as they say, the rest is history.

The first book was a hardcopy. It was written in two major sessions - the first three week block on the island, followed by over a year's break and then a four week Christmas holiday break. All up the final edition took eight weeks of intense work, spread over a fifteen month period. This was followed by another couple of weeks of proof-reading, final editing and deciding how best to market and sell the book.

The e-Book was Born

I eventually decided to change my hardcopy book into an e-book. I believed that this was the easiest and cheapest way to enter the world of the author! Since placing my first e-book online, I now realize that there are a variety of ways to sell e-books, each with varying costs, benefits and disadvantages.

The commercial online e-book store on the internet is still developing and is the new and probably best approach. It will in some cases allow for both the sale of the e-book and of the creation and then sale of this as a hardcopy through their online store - a double whammy! This is my main avenue now, which is combined with my own professional website.
The Challenge, Time, Sweat - Worth It!!!

Writing your own book or e-book needs dedication and commitment - no need to be put off by the challenge though. My marketing e-books are proof that it is possible! I am no different to anyone else.

I took the challenge, locked in the time and energy needed and went for it. Twenty-five weeks over three years and 6 books later, I am a very contented author, e-publisher and e-book seller.

The 'How Can I Write an e-Book Myself - My Experience Writing 5 Quality e-Books' blog post was written
by Bryan Foster, author of School Marketing Manual for the Digital Age (3rd ed), (2011)
- the paperback and ebook manual for school communications and marketing
personnel - 340 pages of easy to read and implement summarized
points - allowing for a considerably large number of quality strategies and examples to be
detailed - with copyright
remaining GDPL. Book available from Amazon.com and Createspace.com

“Congratulations on the School Marketing Manual for the Digital Age (3rd ed), 2011 - It is superb. It is absolutely amazing the way you have produced it in such detail, yet simplicity. The headings, Vision and Mission, values underlying it all, profes..”